BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $86.81, but opened at $88.75. BJ's Wholesale Club shares last traded at $87.16, with a volume of 164,096 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.94.

BJ's Wholesale Club Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. BJ's Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 36.12%. The company had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total transaction of $940,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 423,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,221,502.24. This trade represents a 2.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.57, for a total value of $83,570.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,133,710.62. The trade was a 6.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,000 shares of company stock worth $2,818,390 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of BJ's Wholesale Club

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,906 shares of the company's stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 9.3% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,461 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in BJ's Wholesale Club by 7.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 2.5% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 5.2% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company's stock.

About BJ's Wholesale Club

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates warehouse clubs on the eastern half of the United States. It provides groceries, general merchandise, gasoline and other ancillary services, coupon books, and promotions. The company sells its products through the websites BJs.com, BerkleyJensen.com, and Wellsleyfarms.com, as well as the mobile app.